MoMA Tower

News at starchitect Jean Nouvel‘s condominium MoMA Tower (officially called 53W53) has been relatively quiet since units hit the market just over a year ago. But CityRealty brings us an update from the Billionaires’ Row construction site, where the 1,050-foot-tall, tapered tower is currently getting the first of its intricate, diagrid skin, which the architect once said will resemble blood running the veins with its nighttime lighting.

Just this week, it came to light that the Metropolitan Museum of Art may lay off as many as 100 employees as part of efforts to cut its $30 million deficit. As the New York Times previously explored, the struggling state of the Met exemplifies a shift in the art world towards modern and contemporary art. And standing as a true testament to this is MoMA’s current financial status.

The midtown museum has already raised $650 million towards its fundraising campaign, far exceeding the $450 million needed for its planned renovation and addition of three new gallery floors. In addition, they’ll also sell $280 million of tax-exempt bonds “to raise money for the project and refinance debt as borrowing costs drop to the lowest on record,” reports Crain’s.

The time has finally come. After years of setbacks and teasers, units at Jean Nouvel’s 1,050-foot-tall MoMA Tower, now officially known as 53W53, have hit the market. Nine listings (out of 139) went up on Corcoran, according to Curbed, ranging from a $3.17 million one-bedroom 19th-floor unit to a $50.9 million four-bedroom, 63rd-floor unit. When construction started earlier this year, rumor had it that the listings wouldn’t be made public, but now that we know otherwise, we’ve got plenty of floorplan porn to ogle, as well as lots more interior renderings courtesy of designer Thierry Despont.

After progress crept along for nearly ten years, Jean Nouvel‘s highly anticipated MoMA Tower, officially known as 53W53, is now inching closer to the finish line. A year ago we got a peak at unofficial penthouse floorplans, and the first interior renderings were revealed in February, followed by a pre-sales-launch video of the interiors in May. Now, the Post has uncovered floorplans and pricing for three of the units in the 1,050-foot, 82-story asymmetrical tower. They include a 3,846-square-foot, 55th-floor three-bedroom asking $21.7 million; a smaller 55th-floor three-bedroom for $14.42 million; and a 4,362-square-foot, 72nd-floor three-bedroom duplex going for $39.2 million.

Since it started making news in 2006, the starchitect-designed condominium tower at 53 West 53rd Street, officially known as 53W53 along Manhattan’s “Billionaire’s Row,” has progressed slowly, stalled until last September when developers were able to obtain 240,000 square feet of development rights from MoMA and the St. Thomas Episcopal Church for $85.3 million and secure a $860 million construction loan. The Jean Nouvel-designed 1,050-foot asymmetrical tower, often called MoMA Tower, is adjacent to the museum and will occupy three of its lower floors.

Now Bloomberg brings us a video interview with Nouvel and interior designer Thierry Despont from the building’s sales gallery that opens the door on the building’s interiors–or at least those of the building’s furnished model unit, which is more than we’ve gotten so far. We also get to behold a sleek model of the tower’s facade surrounded by its neighbors. The architect says that there are “…almost no two similar apartments in the building because on every floor the shape and the layouts are different.”

Last night, MoMA held an event to honor Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel and his much talked-about project 53W53, which is also known as the MoMA Tower for its location next to the museum and the fact that the institution will occupy three of its lower floors. Furthermore, its developers bought more than 240,000 square feet of development rights from MoMA, as well as the St. Thomas Episcopal Church, for $85.3 million back in September, at which time they also secured a $860 million construction loan for the 1,050-foot asymmetrical tower. And now that construction has moved forward and interior renderings of the condos were revealed, what better time to pat this long-stalled project on the back.

The celebration drew a diverse crowd, including Richard Meier, Martha Stewart, and broker to the stars Dolly Lenz. In a Q&A with filmmaker Matthew Tyrnauer, Nouvel discussed his inspiration for the forthcoming project. Dressed in head-to-toe black (down to his socks and tie), he also revealed that he has “no favorite color,” according to the Observer.

The last time we got any insider knowledge about Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower, known officially as 53W53, was back in September when the penthouse floor plans of the 82-story, 1,050-foot building were revealed. Now it’s gotten even better with actual interior renderings surfacing courtesy of the New York Times.

The rendering is accompanied by a full-scale unit model of a $10 million, two-bedroom, 32nd-floor apartment planned for the tower. Set in a Sunset Park warehouse, the mock up shows how the building’s well-known zig-zag façade pattern (the “diagrid”) will translate inside, which leads to tilting windows and slanted columns. These unusual architectural features will inform the interior designs of Thierry W. Despont, who has been tapped to craft the 140 condo interiors.

Just last week, we announced that the Jean Nouvel-designed MoMA residential tower was finally moving forward, after the purchase of $85 million in air rights and with a new construction loan of $860 million. Now, The Real Deal has obtained penthouse floorplans for the 82-story tower, and they are nothing to sneeze at.

Hot off the purchase of $85 million in air rights, and with a new construction loan of $860 million in tow, Hines is back on track to bring the Jean Nouvel-designed MoMA residential tower to fruition. According to TRD, Hines just closed on two deals to buy more than 240,000 square feet of development rights from MoMA and the St. Thomas Episcopal Church for $85.3 million.